NCAAF

Rice Owls at Southern Miss Golden Eagles

· LendingTree Bowl
5-8, 1-5 Away
Final
24 - 38

Gore runs for bowl record 329 yards, Southern Miss tops Rice

Jakarius Caston dives to make sweet TD grab

Gore, the son of the former NFL star, had a 64-yard scoring run in the second quarter, threw an 18-yard touchdown pass in the third and ran for 55 yards for another score in the fourth. He also ran 59 yards to set up the go-ahead touchdown for the Golden Eagles (7-6).

Gore, who had 21 carries, broke the mark of 317 yards set by Appalachian State’s Camerun Peoples in the 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl against North Texas. Gore broke the Southern Miss record of 304 by Sam Dejarnette against Florida State in 1982.

Rice quarterback AJ Padgett threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns — all in the third quarter — to give the Owls (5-8) a brief 24-17 lead. He threw 26 and 32 yards to Isaiah Esdale to tie a game Southern Miss led 17-3 at halftime, then connected with Bradley Rozner to put Rice up 24-17 with 5:06 left in the third.

Gore’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Ty Mims — his seventh passing score of the season — tied it at 24 after three quarters. Trey Lowe threw a 26-yard touchdown to Jason Brownlee on the second play of the fourth quarter to give the Golden Eagles the lead at 31-24, and Gore’s 55-yarder capped the scoring with 2:57 left.

Linebacker Daylen Gill had three of Southern Miss’ season-high five sacks.

Lowe threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jakarius Caston to give Southern Miss a 7-0 lead at the 12:20 mark of the first quarter. Gore’s 64-yard run made it 14-0 early in the second.

Field goals of 34 yards by Rice’s Christian VanSickle and 18 yards by Southern Miss’ Brooks Bourgeois closed out the first-half scoring.

IMPRESSIVE BLOODLINES

Gore was not the only player on the field with famous NFL relatives. Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, the son of former Denver Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey and the younger brother of San Francisco 49ers star Christian, caught seven passes for 67 yards and also ran for 11 yards.

Luke McCaffrey transferred to Rice in 2021 from Nebraska, where he was a quarterback. He converted to receiver this past spring.

THE TAKEAWAY

Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles finish with a winning record in the second season under coach Will Hall and snapped a two-game losing streak vs. the Owls, their former Conference USA rival. Southern Miss now leads the all-time series 7-6 and is 12-15 in bowl games.

Rice: The Owls, the only FBS team with a losing record to play in a postseason game this year, is now 7-6 all-time in bowls. Rice was in the postseason for the first time since 2014.

How To Watch

How can I watch Rice Owls vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles?
  • TV Channel: Owls at Golden Eagles 2021 College Football, week 1, is broadcasted on ESPN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Golden Eagles: 66.8%
Owls: 33.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

USM TD 1st Period 12:20 Jakarius Caston 19 Yd pass from Trey Lowe (Briggs Bourgeois Kick)
USM TD 2nd Period 10:14 Frank Gore Jr. 64 Yd Run (Briggs Bourgeois Kick)
RICE FG 2nd Period 6:04 Christian VanSickle 34 Yd Field Goal
USM FG 2nd Period 2:40 Briggs Bourgeois 18 Yd Field Goal
RICE TD 3rd Period 11:12 Isaiah Esdale 26 Yd pass from AJ Padgett (Christian VanSickle Kick)
RICE TD 3rd Period 10:08 Isaiah Esdale 32 Yd pass from AJ Padgett (Christian VanSickle Kick)
RICE TD 3rd Period 5:06 Bradley Rozner 18 Yd pass from AJ Padgett (Christian VanSickle Kick)
USM TD 3rd Period 3:52 Tiaquelin Mims 18 Yd pass from Frank Gore Jr. (Briggs Bourgeois Kick)
USM TD 4th Period 14:18 Jason Brownlee 26 Yd pass from Trey Lowe (Briggs Bourgeois Kick)
USM TD 4th Period 2:57 Frank Gore Jr. 55 Yd Run (Briggs Bourgeois Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/242.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originRICE https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2572.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUSM
21 1st Downs 22
5-15 3rd down efficiency 2-9
0-2 4th down efficiency 0-0
425 Total Yards 550
303 Passing 189
20-39 Comp-Att 9-19
7.8 Yards per pass 9.9
122 Rushing 361
31 Rushing Attempts 38
3.9 Yards per rush 9.5
9-57 Penalties 6-55
2 Turnovers 3
1 Fumbles lost 3
1 Interceptions thrown 0
32:38 Possession 27:22

Game Information

Hancock Whitney Stadium

Location: Mobile, AL
Attendance: 20,512 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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